Does this thread belong here?, pieces of quest Options

[ghastley]

Most of the threads in this forum are naturally about "my character's adventures in a TES world", and the rest are meta-threads about writing them.

I'm coming from a completely different direction, or maybe not. I'm trying to create quest mods for Oblivion with a whole lot of NPC's who have linked stories, and I need all the help I can get with those. It's not entirely a different problem from writing the support cast in a regular FF, but it does leave out the central character, who will be the player, and I don't want to write that one.

I like to build a character in Oblivion and play it for a while before making an NPC from it, as this helps to give me some idea of how a pure mage thinks, or an archer, or an axe-wielding Orc, and I can make the NPC more credible that way. I'm currently playing a stereotypical big dumb blonde Nord called Hidy Heidi, who aspires to joining the Imperial Mountain Riders and patrolling the Jerrals on a white bear. I started her off trying to use poisoned daggers and stealth, but found that it's not too viable at low levels, because the damage she could inflict was never enough for a one-hit kill, and using a dagger put her too close for comfort in the remainder of the encounter. So she switched to a Claymore to better use her Blade skill, although she still tries a sneak attack with a dagger first, some of the time. She'd probably use the Claymore if she got a bear to ride, so maybe it's for the best.

This experience now has to be distilled down to some dialog for the NPC in-game, and that of her colleagues, and that's the sort of thing I'd want to post here for criticism and advice. And the content of books, notes, journal entries for the quests. Many of you have experience of rewriting bits of lore for your narratives, or fitting a new piece into the incomplete jigsaw puzzle Betheda provided, so I know it will help me if it works.

Heidi is intended to become part of this mod, of which only the first two quests have been released as a beta. I have another dozen or so in development, including an arc of quests that happen after the player is both CoC and Madgod, based on the idea of Dagon taking revenge on the player by opening gates in his/her new realm.

[ghastley]

Malandil's tale had been a bit of a roadblock until I finished the part of the mod it's based on, so the next couple of parts were drafted before.

Now its the (new) Syl's turn

-------------------------------------

Syl's Tale

"I don't remember dying. Do you know why I died? Did I do something naughty?"

The new Syl clearly didn't know much about her old life, or was it really her before? This one had a new heart, did that make a difference?

"I remember being naughty. I enjoyed that. But when I was a little child, I didn't like being punished for it . When I got older, it was even more enjoyable, and nobody could punish me, because I was the Duchess"

She did recall something of her previous life, then, but had she changed?

"I was always afraid that someone could, so I was really careful. But that meant doing bad things again." The new Syl cast her eyes down as she said that, and noticed her nakedness for the first time. "Why do I have no clothes? Am I being naughty again? I don't want to be punished before I have the fun!"

The new Madgod, (almost as new as she was) reassured her. "It's normal to be naked when you're born, or in your case, reborn."

"Does that count? Really, if I was naughty, a little bit of punishment would be all right, just so I know it's all over. Maybe a spanking, or something like that? Just enough to make them red and tingly?"

The Madgod sent her to get dressed. The new Syl might not be paranoid like the old one, but she did belong here in Dementia.

---

For the first few days, the men of the courts indulged her. Kithlan was particularly happy to find that he could look in her direction without Herdir being summoned. The novelty soon wore off even for him.

The court healer thought the old Syl had returned, after she made the mistake of soothing her reddened posterior with a restoration spell. She just didn't know what she'd done wrong. Syl stormed off to sulk in her chambers and left her alone in her bewilderment.

Syl was supposed to be helping Dyus find the other Oblivion gates. They knew only of the one in Dementia, near the village of Fellmoor. There had to be at least one more, as the Madgod had seen another gate, and a Sigil Tower, when he passed through the Deadlands. That gate had to lead somewhere else, probably in Mania, and it was the key to reaching the Tower and taking the Stone.

But she couldn't concentrate. She was restless, and the crystal ball wasn't revealing anything. The cool stone of the chair against her bare behind just reminded her that she hadn't been spanked for at least half an hour. Everyone was getting tired of her demands, and refusing to help.

---

Haskill was talking with the Madgod about her problem. He suggested that a good line of inquiry might lead through the old Sheogorath's private retreat. "He may have been mad, but he was neither a fool nor a monk. He maintained a retreat in Mania, where he could indulge himself away from the Court of Madness and its attendant complications. I could mark it on your map if you wish to pay a visit yourself. The Mazken and Aureal there may have something to contribute to this matter. You'll also need this key to gain entry."

Dyus also had something to contribute. "Syl's crystal ball needs to be upgraded, and that will require water from the Pool of Reflection. You have been there before, of course, so it should be an easier task this time."

---

Syl woke up from her nap in the Duke's quarters on the Mania side of the palace. She'd decided to sleep here, away from that annoying crystal ball that mocked her inablity to scry anything useful.

There was a Golden Saint standing next to her bed. Not the usual scowling female guard, but a smiling male, who seemed to appreciate what he was looking at. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

He replied that he had been specially trained to provide for her needs, and that was his duty from here on. "I'm rather confused about that. It appears that my Lady requires me to punish her for being naughty, but expects me to assist her with being naughty in the first place?"

Syl was glad they'd understood the whole picture, but she still had some misgivings about this.

"You were trained for this? How?"

"The training was even more confusing. The Aurig made me watch while she spanked a female prisoner. The prisoner seemed to be enjoying it, even though the Aurig was hitting her quite hard. But when I asked if I should try to please the Aurig in the same way, she just told me to shut up and watch. When she was done, she made me satisfy both of them, as a test of my ability."

"Who is this 'Aurig' you're telling me about?"

"She was the chosen playmate of the previous Sheogorath, no less. I could not help noticing that the Aurig had larger breasts than the other Aureals. She told me that it was because that was the will of Sheogorath. She said that uniformity was what Jyggalag preferred, and so Sheogorath hated that. It was the only thing she said that made any sense."

Syl smiled, at last.

"I've kept you from doing your duty all this time with my questioning. How naughty of me."

---

---

Feeling much better, she made her way back to the Dementia quarters to make another attempt at scrying. However, the crystal ball was quickly forgotten when she found a Mazken counterpart to her new Aureal spanker had taken up his post in her bedroom.

This one had a similar story to tell.

"I was trained by Sheogorath's personal playmate. We are always in awe of the female Mazken, but this particular Grakedrig was chosen by Sheogorath himself! She left me in no doubt why that was so."

"The Grakedrig started my training by spanking me. She said that I needed to learn that it could be enjoyable, and didn't stop until I agreed. Then we exchanged positions, but I wasn't allowed to spank her, this part was all about balancing the pain with pleasure. My pain, her pleasure, of course. Repeated until the Grakedrig was fully satisfied, and she is not easy to please!"

She was eager to find out if the training had produced the right results. It had.

"He's not just obeying orders," she thought. "He's enjoying this as much as I am. Is that just his Mazken devotion to duty? Do I care?"

---

---

Both of them were quite worn out when Dyus entered the room. She was sitting at her crystal ball, as much for the cool of the seat as any attempt at scrying. She wasn't at all startled when Dyus poured the contents of a bottle straight through the glass surface into its interior. Today was just a magical day, after all.

Dyus replaced the ball in its stand, and she looked into it. A faint glow appeared in one corner. But spheres don't have corners, what's going on?

She looked closer. The corner was in the scene that was coming into focus in the ball, and the glow was an Oblivion Gate! There were rocks, and trees, and a piece of shoreline. She was beginning to recognize the location. Mania, near the northern coastline. Between Cylarne and Brellach.

Dyus handed her a map. She marked a cross on it where the gate would be. The Madgod had arrived in her room, too, and Dyus handed him the updated map.

"I found it. The Mania Gate! I deserve a nice long spanking for that! Oh, wait, I just had that, didn't I?"

She heard the Mazken standing in the corner trying not to laugh out loud at her understatement. Dyus felt no such inhibition, and nor did the Madgod. Soon her face was as red as ... anything else.